Jump Start # 2552

Psalms 137:1 “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept.”

Our verse today begins very sadly. I thought it was fitting for the times we are having. I haven’t been to the stores in a while. I’ve heard all the horror stories, so I went. A Monday morning, usually not too crowd. Not this day. It was packed. And what I had heard I saw. Very little meat, long, long shelves where toilet paper and paper towers once were lined, empty. Laundry detergent gone. Long lines at the checkout. Weary store employees. People wearing masks. And, for most of us, we’d wish things just got back to normal. We wonder how long it will take to get to normal. And, we begin to wonder, if the new normal will look a lot differently than what we were used to.

The passage for today is one of the last Psalms. The book of Psalms covers a huge segment of Biblical history. There was one written by Moses. Then, centuries later, David wrote several. Now, we come to the time period of the Babylonian captivity, in the 500 B.C. range. The people of God were in exile. Babylon came as the prophets warned. The walls came down. The temple was robbed and burned. Many were killed. Many were carted off to Babylon. For seventy years, the people of God would be in captivity.

While the exiles were in Babylon, their hearts remained in Jerusalem. As our verse begins, they sat down and wept. The next verse says that they hung their harps up. The Babylonians wanted to hear some of their songs, but Judah just couldn’t. They couldn’t sing while in a foreign land. They never wanted to forget Jerusalem, but they just didn’t have the heart to sing.

Getting out of our routine, redefining what is normal can do that, even to us today. Many of us worshipped in our homes Sunday. We weren’t sick. There was no snow on the ground. But because of caution and love for our neighbors, and doing our part in trying to stop the spread of this virus, we worshipped at home. It was different. Now, the concern is, how much longer do we have to do this? Will this be the new norm for the next few weeks?

From this, some thoughts:

First, it sure makes us realize what a blessing worshipping together is. Singing in our homes is just not the same as being with each other. There is a joy and a benefit of gathering together. God understands this. Fellowship is a powerful instrument to our encouragement. We need each other. It sure makes us miss each other.

Second, life is constantly changing. People must adjust. What is norm, changes. Take a family of mom, dad and the kids. When the last child moves out for good, the norm changes. Empty nesters. When my youngest got ready to move out for good, he sat down and asked me if I was going to be ok. He said, “You’ve had kids in the house for a long time.” I told him, my greatest fear was that the truth was about to be known. Always when my wife would ask me about who left a dirty dish out, or who did this, I could say, “It was one of the boys. “ It was. Now she will know which boy it was. It was me. I ran into a person just today who looked so sad. Her husband died a few months ago. She was having to deal with a new norm in her life. Things would not go back to the way they used to be.

For some congregations, in the time of adjustments and changes, they may find a new norm that works better for them with scheduling and teaching. We may want things to return to how they once were, but the truth is, they may not.

Third, our thoughts for ancient Judah is that they should have prayed, sang and worshipped God in Babylon. They missed an opportunity to show their captors what true worship and the true God is like. Feeling sad. Feeling disappointed. Feeling discouraged. Wishing things were different never excuses us from honoring God. God was still with them. God hadn’t changed. The world around us is changing. Life changes. People change. But God doesn’t. Maybe singing some of their old hymns would have lifted their spirits. Maybe it would have dried their eyes. Maybe it would have put some hope back in their lives. Maybe it will do the same for us.

Sometimes the last thing we feel like doing is often the best thing that we can do. Don’t feel like going to worship, usually is the best thing you can do. Don’t feel like opening up the Bible today, usually is the best thing that you can do. Don’t feel like helping someone out, can be the best thing you do.

Fourth, the one place that won’t change is Heaven. There are no external elements to bring change. There is no internal trouble that would lead to change. Heaven is eternal and unchangeable, like the God who dwells there. Heaven takes on the characteristics of God. Pure. Holy. Righteous. Clean. Beautiful. Wonderful. And, unchanging.

What’s the next few days and weeks going to look like? It will be different. We may not like the changes. The changes may last a while. But, the changes do not have to change us. By the rivers of Babylon, you and I can sing. We must sing. We shall sing. It’s the right thing to do. It will lift our spirits, honor our God and remind us of what is really important in life.

Hang in there…and keep singing.

Roger

Jump Start # 1185

Psalms 137:1 “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.”

  Today is a sad anniversary for our country. 9-11. Lives were changed and many lives lost that day and since that time in pursuing wicked men who are bent on our destruction. Painful memories are the hardest to deal with. We love the happy memories. The weddings…the births…the birthday parties…the holidays…baptisms…awesome worship services. We take photos of those events because we do not want to forget. It’s the painful ones that we’d like to forget but they hang around and seem to haunt us.

The memory of a car accident…the memory of hateful words spoken to you…the memory of a sudden death…the memory of a funeral…the memory of a divorce—those moments have shaped us and affected us. The tears, the heartache, the pain, the hurt—it doesn’t take much to bring back those painful memories. You can be having a pretty good day and a certain song comes on the radio and that’s all it takes to bring back the thoughts and bring on the tears. My mom has been gone for 19 years. The other day I was in a store and saw a woman from the back. She looked like mom. About the same size, hair color, even the way she walked. I knew it wasn’t but it sure brought back memories. I wished it was.

Our verse today is one of the last Psalms. It was written during the Babylonian captivity. Judah was in punishment for disobeying God. The words are the thoughts of the faithful. They remembered Zion or Jerusalem. They were away from the Temple. They were captives in a foreign land. It brought tears to their eyes.

How does a person deal with the painful memories that will not go away? Some have been crippled by those experiences and life all but stopped for them. It may be time for some professional help in those cases. For some, those events changed their lives. The death of a mate has forced them to make some painful changes, possibly moving from a home that they no longer can take care of or afford. It may have resulted in a family being split up by divorce and now you only get to see the kids every other weekend. It may be that your company folded and you haven’t been able to find a job. It seems the birds are singing and the sun is shining for everyone else, but those painful changes and memories have truly affected you in a great way.

One thing I would suggest is not to keep dwelling upon the pain. It will be there, but we can make it worse. It’s like when a person is dating and the other person breaks up with them. Playing those sad songs over and over doesn’t help. It just makes you feel worse. Paul’s words to the Philippians about focusing upon the things that are lovely, pure, right is powerful. Let your mind dwell upon these things is what Paul said. Reliving and replaying the hurt over and over only takes healing longer. It’s like picking off scabs. You have to allow things to heal and what you focus upon can really help.

Second, get around others, especially godly people. Isolation leads to depression. Elijah was hiding in a cave when God found him. He was told to get out of the cave and get around people. Caves are dark. They allow dark thoughts. Most of us have our own caves. It’s time to open the drapes and let the sunshine in the house and in our hearts. Get to worship. Get around others. This allows you to be useful, productive and helps you count your blessings. It’s ok to smile again. It’s ok to laugh again. It’s ok to find pleasurable things to do again. When Paul was depressed God did not remove the problems that caused that. He sent Titus. Titus was a breath of fresh air for Paul’s soul and spirit. Titus encouraged and helped Paul. You need a Titus in your life. The problems and pain will probably still be there, but a Titus can bring back the hope and joy in your life.

Third, your experiences, as painful as they are, can be powerful tools to help others. We are all on a journey. We are not at the same location. Some are ahead of us and others are behind us. Look to those ahead of your for encouragement and advice. Look behind you to offer a helping hand to those who are hurting. The fellowship of others is a great help. What you have learned, good and bad, can be shared with others. It helps talking to someone who has walked the same path that you have. No one understands the pain a parent goes through who has buried a child more than another parent who has done the same. The rest of us really do not know what you feel. Be there for one another.

Finally, remember that God is still on the throne. He’s been there all this time. He was on the throne when the planes flew into the twin towers on 9-11. He was on the throne when bombs fell upon Pearl Harbor. He was on the throne when Judah was taken to Babylon. He was on the throne when His beloved Son was put to death on the Cross of Calvary. God knows. He sees our tears and knows our hearts. Our thoughts could turn to why didn’t He do something? Maybe He did and we don’t understand it on this side of eternity. We know He still loves us and always has. We know that He wants the best for us, and that best is for us to have a relationship with Him and walk with His Son to Heaven. He has never promised rainbows and sunshine each day. He has been faithful to us. There has been blessings since our tragedy. We may have a hard time seeing them, but they are there. He’s not finished with us. There is a work to do and there is a life to live. There are people that need us and are counting upon us. We need to be God’s hands and feet. He wants us to continue on with Him. The pain we experienced isn’t an indication of His displeasure. Suffering, hardships and hard times are some of the best classroom learning experiences God has. We see things in the dark that we never see in the daytime. We tend to lean more upon God, pray more, think more spiritually when we are going through the valleys of life. We love the mountain top experiences, but often, to get to the mountain tops, one must travel through the dark valleys first.

Prayer helps. Fellowship helps. Reading God’s word, especially the Psalms, helps. It’s ok to cry. It’s ok to reflect. But don’t shut the Titus’ out of your life who are Heaven sent to help you. They love you and want to encourage you.

Painful memories—we all have them. May God help us with them.

Roger